Trademarked Philly Geography

Philebrity did another Philly focused post yesterday, and it’s full of great stuff. But, given that Noise Narcs’ first post waxed on hip hop, Philadelphia, and the importance of “where you’re from,” I was naturally drawn to Trademark Experience’s “South Philly (You Got To Love It),” with its “13th and Morris” check-in chorus. A great summer jam about a place I love that compares West of Broad drugslingers as tectonic plates because they “move weight and start trouble”: win.

Plus, it gives me the opportunity to talk about how amazing PhillyHistory.org is. Run by the City Archives, it geo and date tags photographs from the city’s treasure trove. It makes finding historical pictures from a neighborhood unbelievably easy (and amazingly addictive). Its blog is also a must-read: a picture book for Philadelphia’s history, covering such topics as “Washington Avenue: A Representative Example of Philly’s Historical Past.” A treat for the nerdy urban historian in all of us. Honest as a promise.

9 Responses to Trademarked Philly Geography

Every city should have this type of a blog. I haven’t dug through PhillyHistory, but I was thinking as you and I were driving through my dad’s old hood that I wish I could see pictures of his childhood homes and my great grandfather’s and grandmothers’ storefronts.

Yeah, Philebrity posts on the Urban Archives every once in a while, but I still haven’t spent any time there. I’ll have to check it out soon. Also, http://www.philageohistory.org/ has some pretty dope old Philly maps with layering capabilities. All in all, Philly is set with some very cool internet tools.